Florida’s Black history museum faces funding uncertainty
Plans for Florida’s Museum of Black History have hit an obstacle after state House lawmakers left the project out of their budget priorities, casting uncertainty over its funding and future.
But according to Sen. Tom Leek, a Republican from St. Augustine who sponsored the bill supporting the museum’s founding, it’s too early in the budgeting process to decide what will happen. He told the Miami Herald he is confident House members will come around. The concern about the House’s lack of funding for the museum was first reported by Action News Jax.
“We’ll continue to work to get secure the funding for the Black history museum, and if we have to pay for it out of the Senate side, and then so be it,” he said. “But I expect our friends in the House will participate as well.”
The Florida Senate has budgeted $1 million for the museum, but Leek said he’s hoping it will increase to $2 million. Leek also sponsored a senate bill that would create a board of directors for the museum. The House has yet to hold a hearing on the companion House version of the bill.
The state’s Black history museum has been in the works for years but gained traction in May 2023 when a law passed creating a nine-member task force to provide recommendations to the Florida legislature for the planning, construction, operation and administration of a Florida Museum of Black History.
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Last year, Leek filed a bill in support of the museum being in St. Johns County, and it was unanimously approved in the Senate. The museum is expected to be built on property owned by Florida Memorial University in St. Augustine where the original school, which was called Florida Memorial College, once stood.
St. Augustine was ground zero for protests against segregation during the civil rights movement, with many students from Florida Memorial College involved in the efforts. In response to the hostile environment and ongoing attacks from the Ku Klux Klan, the college relocated to South Florida, which it has called home since 1968. The school has since expanded and been renamed Florida Memorial University and is South Florida’s only HBCU.
St. Johns County and the Florida Memorial University Foundation, which still owns the land, signed a land lease last year that is expected to last 33 years.
“I’m just honored to be a small part of it. You can’t tell Florida’s history without also telling the history of Black Floridians,” Leek said. “I’m happy that we’ve been able to get it through the Senate and I look forward to seeing it become a reality.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 4:30 AM.
